Sawmill set-works.



N0.7e4,o95. PATBNTBD JULY5,1904,

` T. s. WILKIN.

SAWMILL SET WORKS.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 6, 1902.

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PATENTED JULY 5, 1904.

T. s. WILKIN. SAWMILL SET WORKS..

APPLICATION FILED NOV. B, 1902. v

2. SHEETS-SHEET 2.

N0 MODEL.

UNITED STATE-s Patented July. 5, 1904.

'IHEODORE S. WILKIN, OF MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN.

SAWNIILL SET-WORKS..

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 764,095, dated July 5,1904.

Application filed November 6, 1902. Serial No. 130,241. (No model.) y

To roll, zul/tom it muy con/cern.-

Be it known that I, THEODORE S. WILKTN, residing at Milwaukee, in thecounty of Milwaukee and State of IIisconsin, have invented a new anduseful Improvement in Sawmill Set-l/Vorks, of which the following is adescription, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which area part of this specification.

My invention comprises improvements in set-works, whereby greaterrelative strength of parts, more easy and exact movement of themechanism, and better resulting application of the power from the forceemployed are obtained than have heretofore been secured. The mechanismalso, among' other things, is specifically adapted to secure a greateror less movement of the knees of the sawmill-carriage by means that atthe same time provide for certain excess of movement or lost motionwithin normal movements of the parts in a manner heretofore unprovidedfor, whereby the knees may be set up eX- actly a predetermined distance,While other parts of the mechanism may move to an eX- tent not requiredfor merely setting up the knees, thereby providing for movement ofgreater extent, such greater movement being adapted to be utilized' forreturning the knees to initial position and also obviously the need forrelations between the parts involving eX- actness of construction andoperation, especially between the set-works proper and theirsteam-cylinder construction and other related mechanism.

The invention consists of the mechanism, its parts, and combinations ofparts, as herein described and claimed or the equivalents thereof.

In the drawings, Figure l is a top plan view of a fragment of asawmill-carriage on which set-works are shown which embody my improvedconstruction. Fig. 2 is a transverse section on line Q 2 of Fig. llooking toward the right and showing the principal features of mypresent invention. Fig. 3 is an edge view of the variable rack-armlocated centrali y in Fig. 2. Fig. 4L is a detail of mechanism employedfor operating the variable rack-arm.

sides of the steam-cylinder.

My present invention involves improvements in set-works having a generalsimilarity to those shown in my application for patent, Serial No.94,930, filed February 20, 1902.

In the drawings, A represents a fragment of a sawmill-carriage which isprovided with head-blocks B B, having knees C C mounted and adapted tobe moved slidably forward and back thereon. A set-shaft 5 has itsbearings in the head-blocks and in a bracket 6, fixed on the carriage,and is provided with pinions 7 7, meshing with racks in the under faceof the knees C C, whereby by the rotation of the shaft 5 the knees areadapted to be moved forward or set up and to be returned to initialposition.

For operating the set-works a motive agent, advisably steam, ispreferably employed, and a steam-cylinder 8 therefor is shown, which ismounted on the carriage and is provided with a reciprocating pistonhaving' a stem 9, which is connected to a yoke 10, the legs of which.travel in guides conveniently at and on the The legs of the yoke l areprovided with racks ll, that mesh with pinions 12 l2, rigid on a hollowshaft 13, having its bearings in brackets 14. 14., fixed on thecarriage. The shaft for compactness of construction advisably passesthrough and is fitted loose in the hollow shaft, which is hereindenominated the driven shaft. The racks ll on the yoke 10 may be of anydesired length, conforming, of course, with the length of the cylinderand its piston-stem, so as to be adapted by the movement of thel racksin one direction to rotate the pinions 12 and their shaft 13 one or morecomplete revolutions at each movement of the rack forward or back. Aclutch l5 is arranged to connect the shaft 5 to the driven shaft 13revolubly, but is commonly disconnected, the clutch being intended to beemployed only for connecting the setshaft to the driven shaft forreturning the knees to initial position when a log has been cut up or atany other time, when desired.

A rock -shaft 16, mounted on the carriage parallel to the set-shaft 5,is provided with radial arms 17 and 18, projecting therefrom in oppositedirections, and rods 19 and 20 connect the radial arms 17 and 18,respectively,

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to tilting' pawls, which pawls at one and the same side of its axisengage with the ratchetwheel 21,:tight on the shaft 5, whereby by therocking of the shaft 16 the shaft will be rotated limitedly, but alwaysin the same direction.

For connecting the driven shaft 13 operatively tothe rock-shaft 16 thedriven shaft is provided with a pinion 22, and an arm 23, having a rackengaging the pinion 22, is pivoted at one extremity to a rod 24` whichrod at its other extremity is pivoted to the wrist 25" of a crank-arm25, keyed on the rock-shaft 16. The rack on the arm 23 is of variableform, there being ad visabl y two portions 26 26, that are disposed inlines substantially radially from itspivot 27, and amcdial connectingportion 28, and also laterally-extending terminal portions 29 29 at theother extremities of the radial portions 26 26, which terminal portionsare cach in an are of a circle described about the-pivot 27. Thesesegmental terminal portions 29 29" of the rack may be extended laterallyto any desired length, the arm 23 being' correspondingly extendedlaterally therefor. This variable rack is advisably on the interiorsurface of a hollowcd-out or slotted portion of the arm. The rack isheld to engagementwith the pinion 22 conveniently by means of aguide-pulley 30, mounted in hangers 31 31, suspended loose revolubly'onthe shaft `13, one at cach side of the pinion 22. The form anddisposition of the parts is such that the pulley 30 travels on theexterioisuiface of the arm opposite the pinion 22 and holds the rackconstantly in engagement with the pinion.

The pivot 27 is connected by an anchor-bar 32to an anchor-pin 33, fixedin a projecting portion of a lever-handle 34, pivoted on the carriageand adapted to be shifted up or down along' on a segment-rack 35,mounted at its upper end on a brace 36 and at its lower end connected tothe carriage adjustablyby a bolt 37, passing through a slot therefor inthe segment-rack. The brace 36 vat its lower end is pivoted on thecarriage at the axis of the lever-handle 34. The handle 34 is providedwith spring-held catches 38 38, adapted to take into notches therefor inthe rack 35.

The steam-cylinder 8 is provided with steamports at 39, controlled byshifting opening and closing valves adapted to admit steam to thecylinder at either side of the piston, as desired.

`1t will be observed that the .arm 23when moved laterally by therotation ofvpinion 22, in mesh with the laterally-extending arcs 29 29of the rack, swings about pivot 27 as its axis and will therefore duringsuch lateral movements not move the rod 24 and the crank 25 at all, andalso that whenthe lever-handle 34 is shifted to its upright position theanchorpin is brought into axial alinement with the wrist-pin 25n on thecrank 25 and that when moving crank 25 and its shaft 16 at all, and .Y

hence it will be understood that in use when the arm 34 is thrown upuntil anchor-pin 33 is in alinement with pin 25 the shaft 13 can berotated unlimitedl y, shifting the arm 23 up and down without rockingshaft 16 or moving the knees at all, but `that when lever-handle 34 ismoved down, so as to put the pin 33 out of alinement with pin 25, thenthe works are so set that the rotation of shaft 13 will to the extentpredetermined by lthe adjustment of handle 34 rock the shaft 16 and moveup the knees. V1t should also be observed that this movement of theknees to set them-up will be made and completed by one movement of theyoke 10 either forward or back, the shaft 13 being' rotated by such onemovement of the yoke 10 in either direction to such extent as to carrythe rack on arm 23 in mesh with pinion 22 from one end thereoftotheother along its entire Ivariable length, the shaft 13 being rotated one,two, or more times, according to the length of the racks 11 11 on theyoke and the size of the pinions 12 12 on the shaft, the pinion 22'being made of such size andthe rack on arm 23 being made of such lengththat the pinion will be caused to traverse the entire length of therack. These portions 29 29 of the rack maybe extended to any lengthdesired to provide for a greater number of revolutions of the shaft 13without actuating the rock-shaft 16, thereby providing for a greaterrotation of the shaft 13 by the movement of the yoke 10, which can beutilized when desired for rotating' the shaft 5, through the clutch 15,to return the knees to initial position. The radial portions 26 26" ofthe rack on the arm 23 may be, as shown in the drawings, of such lengthas by one movement of the yoke 10 to be completely actuated by tworotations of the shaft 13, but, if preferred, may be made shorter, so asto be completely acted on by one rotationof the shaft, or these portionsof the yrack being of the lengths shown in the drawings an enlargedpinion 22 could be provided-which would only act on both of the radialportions 26 26 of the arm-rack by one revolution of the shaft 13. Theresults would be the same in the two cases. Of course the extent towhich the rock-shaft is rotated, and thereby the extent to which theknees are moved up, depends, as in my former application, on theposition that the pivot 33 is set to with reference to crankpin 25,themovement ofthe shaft 5, and correspondingly the knees, beingincreasedin proportion as the pivot 33 is moved away from alinement with pin 25.The shaft 13 always starts from and returns to a home position, which isthe position it has when at each end IOO of the racks l1, and at eachmovement of the .piston in cylinder 8 the shaft is rotated to the extentcaused by a complete movement of the racks in one direction, and as towhether or not set-shaft 5 is moved thereby at all or to what extentdepends entirely on the adjustment of lever-handle 34 up or down andcorrespondingly of the position of anchor-pin 33 with reference tocrank-pin 251. It will be understood that when it becomes necessary toreturn the knees to initial position the pawls on the ends of rods 19and 2O are lifted out of engagement with the ratchet-wheel 2l, and theclutch l5 is made to connect the shaft 13 with the shaft 5, andthereupon by moving the yoke lO back toward the cylinder 8 the shaft isrotated to withdraw the knees, and this may be accomplished by notexceeding one movement of the yoke rearwardly.

`I/Vhat I claim as my invention isl. In sawmill set-works, a set-shaftadapted by its rotation to move the knees on a carriage, a rock-shaftprovided with a crank, means connecting' the rock-shaft operatively tosaid set-shaft, a driven shaft, a pivoted arm having a variable rackengaging said driven shaft, a portion or portions of said rack beingl sodisposed that by the rotation of the driven shaft the arm is swung aboutits pivot and other portions of the rack so disposed that by therotation of the driven shaft the arm is moved bodily `endwise, a rodconnecting said arm at its pivot to a crank on said rock-shaft, andmeans for anchoring' said rodand-arm pivotal connection adjustably withreference to said crank.

2. In sawmill set-works, a set-shaft adapted by its rotation to move theknees on a carriage, a ratchetwheel fixed on the shaft, a rock-shaftprovided with oppositely-extending' radial arms, pawls on said armsseverally engaging said ratchet-wheel so as to rotate it in the samedirection, a driven shaft provided with a pinion or pinions, areciprocable rack or racks meshing with said pinion or pinions, an armprovided with a variable rack, said arm being` connected to saidrock-shaft, another pinion on said driven shaft gearing with saidvariable rack and adapted by its revolution to swing the arm about itspivot and to move it endwise, and means for adjusting said pivotalconnection of said arm to said rockshaft. y

3. In sawmill set-works, adjustable means for taking up excess motionand for communieating' a remainder of the motion to a setshaft,comprising a rock-shaft provided with a crank-arm, a driven shaft, anarm pivoted to an adjustable anchor and provided with a variable rackarranged to engage said driven shaft rotatively, said variable rackbeing so formed and the arm so disposed that by the rotation of theshaft the arm is moved bodily endwise and may be swung about its pivot,

and means connecting said arm at its pivotal extremity to saidrock-shaft operatively.

4. In sawmill set-works, adjustable means for taking up excess motionand for communieating a remainder of the motion to a set'- shaft,comprising a rock-shaft provided with a crank, a driven shaft providedwith a pinion, a rod connected operatively to said rockshaft, an armpivoted to said rod and provided with a variable rack partly in an arcconcentric with its pivotal connection to said rod and partlysubstantially radial thereto, and means for holding said rack inengagement with the pinion on the driven shaft.

5. In sawmill set-works, adjustable means for taking up excess motionand for communieating a remainder of the motion to a set-shaft,comprising a rock-shaft, a driven shaft provided with a pinion andhaving means for rotating it, an arm connected movably to saidrock-shaft eccentrically, an interior variable rack on said arm parts ofthe rack being in the direction of the length of the arm and partsextending' laterally thereof, and means adapted to travel on the arm andhold the rack on the arm in mesh with said pinion on the driven shaft. I

6. In sawmill set-works, the combination with a knee-actuating shaft, ofa rock-shaft, means connecting the rock-shaft to the kneeactuating shaftwhereby the rocking of vthe shaft will rotate the knee-actuating shaftin one direction, a driven shaft provided with a pinion and with meansfor rotating it, a crank on therock-shaft, a rod pivoted to a wrist onsaid crank, an arm pivoted at one extremity to said rod, a barconnecting said rod and arm at their pivoted connections to a shiftablelever-handle, a variable rack on said arm interiorly, and a pulley-guidemounted in relatively fixed position and adapted to travel on theexterior edge of said arm and hold said rack in engagement with saidpinion.

7. In sawmill set-works, the combination with a rock-shaft, a set-shaft,a driven shaft, and reciprocable means for rotating the driven shaft, ofmeans on the rock-shaft for rotating' the set-shaft in one direction bythe oscillation of the rock-shaft, and other means connecting the drivenshaft to the rock-shaft operatively whereby by the rotation of thedriven shaft one full revolution or more the set-shaft will during aportion of said shaft revolution be rotated to a certain extent andduring another portion of said rotation of said shaft will remain atrest.

8. In sawmill'set-works, the combination with a rock-shaft, a set-shaft,a driven shaft about the set-shaft, a clutch connecting the driven shaftto the set-shaft releasably, and reciprocable means for rotating thedriven4 shaft one or more times by each movement in one directionof thereciprocable means, of means connecting the driven shaft to the rock-IOO IIO

shaft operatively adapted to utilize only a portion of the rotation olthe driven shaft in actuating' the rock-shaft and permitting anotherportion or portions of the rotation of the driven shaft to be lost onthe rock-shaft whereby the driven shaft may be rotated to the Afullextent of the movement of the reciprocable means in one directionactuating the rook-shaft only limitedly and thereby dispos- 10 ing thereciprocable means for returning the knees to initial position by onebackward movementof those means when the rock-shaft is disconnected fromthe set-shaft.

In testimony whereof l aiiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

THEODORE S. VlLKlN.

7i tnesses:

L. P. HATHORN, N. JoNws.

